Record what you see, then make room for interpretation

When looking at an image, “what I can see” and “what it brings to mind” often end up in the same sentence. Recording them separately is one possible way to read an image. The aim is not to prohibit associations, but to make their basis easier to revisit. This exercise makes no claims about the imagery, history or fixed meanings of any particular card.

Choose an image you are entitled to view and would like to spend a little time with. Divide a sheet of paper into two columns: “Visible details” and “My interpretation”. Start with things you can point to, such as position, number, colour or posture. If the image actually shows a figure facing out of the frame, you might write “The figure faces out of the frame”. “They want to leave” belongs in the interpretation column. This is a hypothetical example, not a description of a particular Tarot card.

Add a sentence to your interpretation: “I think this because…” The same orientation might suggest waiting, attending to something elsewhere or a moment of distraction. These are possible readings, not evidence of the figure’s motives. If a detail is unclear, write “Cannot confirm”. There is no need to fill either column with things the image does not show. Even the words used for observation involve choices, so they too can be revised.

Finally, choose one interpretation and ask: What other reading is possible? If I relate this to my circumstances today, what information would need checking in real life? An image can prompt a question, but it cannot establish another person’s thoughts or events that have not happened. You can also stay with the image without applying the exercise to your private life.

Before putting your notes away, keep the distinction between the columns: which details you can currently point to, and which meanings you are provisionally adopting. When you return to the page, allow the second column to change. One interpretation need not become a settled judgment about yourself.

The exercises and interpretations are for learning and reflection, and do not constitute professional advice.